What I Did on My Holiday - Part 4 - Saumur

After the Long Drive to see the Monkeys we decided to stay closer to Châtellerault so took a 20 minute drive to the castle town of Saumur,

Saumer castle was very impressive on the approach and we were delighted after the disappointment of Chinon to see people peering over the battlements (Thankfully unarmed) which implied that the castle was open, we stopped in the café in the courtyard for a quick drink and to feed the baby, on leaving the café via the open air seating area we discovered we had accidentally bypassed the entrance and were now inside the castle grounds. Being of good character however we made our way back outside and purchased tickets anyway. Whilst buying our tickets which were very reasonable at 3€ we were unfortunately informed that the castle was undergoing refurbishments and as a result only the grounds and the inner courtyard were open, along with a very interesting museum of the horse, it was a shame but there was still enough to see including magnificent views of the river and obviously the castle itself.

After visiting the castle we made for a Mushroom Museum, I have to admit I was sceptical at the thought of a tour of a mushroom growing cave, after all it is just mould, but when we got there it turned out – I was right!

So 6€ 50 lighter we found ourselves stumbling around in some very dark caves learning all about how they manufacture mushroom manure, this really is as interesting as it sounds, After stumbling from cave to cave we eventually got to some information on how they grow the mushrooms as well as mushroom production through the ages, this was interesting but not enough to justify the entrance fee, the other exhibits which included “A collection of Stones found in the Loire River.” & “An Impression of what a strange looking mushroom might look like.” We got to the last three caves “Random Photographs taken by the Mushroom Society Members” and decided it was time to set a course towards the exit.